The U.S. Army is still struggling to cope with the unexpected primary weapon of the Iraq insurgency — the roadside bomb.
Officials acknowledged that the army has never faced a threat from such explosivs, known as improvised explosive devices (IED), as that in Iraq. They said Sunni insurgents have made IEDs a key
element in operations against the U.S.-led coalition.
Complicating the problem has been the problem of armoring U.S. military vehicles. The Army has been saddled by a significant
increase in the attrition rate of its combat and supply vehicles in Iraq, Middle East Newsline reported.
U.S. officials said the widespread use of bolting additional armor on
the army's Humvee utility vehicle fleet has led to a significant increase
in its attrition rate. They said the additional armor was wearing down the
structure of the vehicle as well as increasing the burden on the engine.
The up-armoring effort has taken place in Kuwait, the logistical center
for the U.S. Army presence in Iraq. The Third Army has operated a facility
for the up-armoring of combat vehicles, Humvees and trucks.
In all, officials said, the extra armor has added up to 1,500 pounds on
each Humvee. As a result, they said, the vehicle's
suspension team was wearing out at a rate of four times faster than usual.
The army plans to acquire 8,105 armored Humvees in Iraq by the end of
March, officials said. They said the goal has been nearly completed.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, deputy for Acquisition and Systems
Management, said the up-armoring effort was
draining army funds in other ways. He cited the additional fuel consumption
that resulted from the extra weight.
Sorenson and other army officials said the increased attrition of combat
vehicles would not affect the up-armoring effort. They said the project has
helped protect army troops from roadside bombs, or improvised explosive
devices, planted by insurgents.
So far, about 7,000 factory-produced up-armored Humvees have been
deployed in the Central Command area of operations, officials said. They
said more than 11,000 Humvees in Iraq — or 85 percent of the fleet — have
been equipped with armor, either at the factory or via field installation.
"It's not just armoring of vehicles," Sorenson said. "We've added body
armor for our personnel, methods to prevent improvised explosive devices
from working. It's been a holistic effort."
The army has deployed a range of vehicles to detect and remove IEDs in
Iraq's Sunni Triangle. One vehicle has been the Buffalo, manufactured by
Armored Vehicle Manufacturer, based in Ladson, South Carolina. The Buffalo
has been used to clear nearly 36,000 kilometers of roads and find more than
220 IEDs in and around Baghdad.
The army has also overseen an effort to produce armored Humvees in the
United States. These Humvees are made with a reinforced chassis to carry the
weight of the armor. But most of the vehicles were being up-armored in Iraq
and Kuwait.
Officials said the army has been overseeing production of about 25,000
sets of interceptor body armor per month, augmented in 2004 with the Deltoid
Axillary Protector, an ambidextrous add-on to protect the shoulder and arm.
The body armor consists of an outer tactical vest and small arms protective
inserts.
